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podcast

Activating the ActiVAtED Learning Podcast

April 30, 2024 by Patrick Hausammann

Written by Tom Landon, the Director of Educational Innovation at Blue Ridge PBS

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When I was a kid I thought one day I’d like to be a disk jockey at a radio station, but after graduating with a degree in telecommunications and getting my first job working the console from midnight to six a.m. at KFMU, an album rock station in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, I soon realized that the job was a lot less glamorous than I’d envisioned. It was a lot less like being Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati than I hoped (If you know, you know, and if you don’t, find an old episode of the show and watch it!) For one, it was pretty lonely sitting in a small soundproof room every night playing songs for the folks stocking shelves overnight at the Safeway, so I pivoted to video production, moving to Roanoke to work for a TV station and then an independent production company where I got to travel regularly, mostly producing ads and marketing videos for industrial clients, car dealers, and even cosmetic surgeons.

When that  company failed, and with the encouragement of my smart wife, I settled on teaching and went back to school to become a social studies teacher. It was the dawn of the computer age in education, and I quickly realized that my technical background was a huge benefit in the classroom. Since then I’ve had a varied career, working in education and media production. In 2021 I left Virtual Virginia where I’d been the Director of Instruction and returned to Blue Ridge PBS, where I’d had a summer internship in 1985 and been a K-12 Specialist from 2000-2007. My current job is a blend of production and education work, which is a perfect fit.

Last year I was part of a team from VSTE and VDOE that was tasked with creating a new podcast designed to put a spotlight on innovative uses of instructional technology while also elevating the profession of teaching. We spent several months deciding what we wanted the podcast to be, and in early December we recorded the first episode at the annual VSTE conference in Roanoke where we interviewed Blended Learning guru Dr. Catlin Tucker in front of more than a hundred attendees, and spent time recording short interviews with other folks in attendance. I can honestly say it’s been some of the most rewarding work of my career, and I’ve come to love the simplicity and intimacy that podcasts provide versus the complex nature of video production.

I had a lot of fun assembling a mobile podcast kit that holds an audio recorder, 4 microphones, mic stands, cables, and power cords. Because I work for a television station, I was able to source a lot of it from equipment at hand. It’s a little heavier than I’d like, and I’ll be making some modifications before we start on our second season, but overall it worked well.

This morning I edited the last episode of our 12 episode season. To record it I visited Suffolk Public Schools, where they host the SEAL Challenge, a collaboration with Penn State that allows kids to choose between submersible and land based robots and aerial drones to complete a highly complex task. The episode is emblematic of the series, which has featured award winning teachers, librarians who delivered books to students during the COVID summer using drones, a trailer converted to high tech lab in Washington County, and an ITRT who set up two Virtual Reality Labs in Bristol. Each episode is available by video on ECHO, a streaming channel of Blue ridge PBS focused on Education, Community, Health and Opportunity, as well as on the major podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Spotify.

So what did I learn this year? For one, that I missed the camaraderie and collaboration that comes with production work. The ActiVAtED Learning team provided great topics and guests and also gave me valuable feedback. I learned a ton of new technical skills. The podcast is recorded using a video camera synchronized to a 6 channel digital audio recorder. I edited the first season using Apple’s Final Cut Pro, but a coworker has convinced me to switch to a new application called Adobe Podcast for next year, so that’ll be another chance to build my technical skills. But probably the most important thing I learned was that I still love getting out of the office and meeting great educators. Now more than ever, teaching is hard, so I hope that ActiVAtED Learning accomplishes our goal of encouraging teachers not to give up - to look for new ways to stretch their brains and build their skillsets.


If you haven’t yet listened to ActiVAtED Learning,  give it a listen and if you like it, please follow and review at least one episode. You can find all of the shows by going on our website at https://www.blueridgepbs.org/educational-resources/activated-learning/

If you’ve got an idea for an episode for season 2 or questions about the production process, drop me a line at activatedlearning@blueridgepbs.org. Happy listening!

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Filed Under: Blog, VDOE, VSTE Partners Tagged With: Activated Learning, Blue Ridge PBS, podcast, VDOE

ActiVAtED Learning Podcast is LIVE!

January 18, 2024 by Patrick Hausammann

The VSTE Education Committee is excited to share the new ActiVAtED Learning, a new Podcast produced by Blue Ridge PBS in partnership with the Virginia Department of Education and in collaboration with the Virginia Society for Technology in Education. In each episode, host Tom Landon, Director of Educational Innovation for Blue Ridge PBS, talks to leading educators about what gets them energized and excited as we tell stories of using technology to inspire student engagement.

The inaugural season will feature conversations with national leaders in blended learning, award winning teachers, librarians, and guests from the Virginia Department of Education and VSTE. Recorded on location around the Commonwealth and in the Blue Ridge PBS podcast studio, the season kicks off with a conversation recorded live at the 2023 VSTE Conference with Dr. Catlin Tucker, noted educator, author, and nationally recognized expert on blended learning and proponent of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in the classroom.

The 12-episode season launched January 17 with new episodes adding every two weeks.   To learn more about the podcast, click here. You can subscribe to the podcast here or on ECHO.

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Filed Under: Blog, VDOE Tagged With: Activated Learning, Education Committee, podcast, VDOE

DEI Task Force Mentoring Committee Launches Webinar Series

November 26, 2020 by timstahmer

Join us live for the inaugural episode of our webinar series on November 30, 2020 at 11:30 am. The series, hosted by Charles Randolph and Jennifer Orr, will highlight the work of VSTE’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force and bring our viewers information for educators around Virginia. Meet members of the task force and learn about our professional development and mentoring work.

photo of Charles Randolph

Whether you are a veteran or a newcomer, the webinar hosts welcome you and look forward to sharing ideas with you. Stay tuned for future webinars.

Join us on Zoom

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Filed Under: Blog, Events, Live Events, VSTE Voices Tagged With: diversity, podcast, Webinar

Creating a Podcast

March 25, 2019 by timstahmer

Back in December 2017, Prince William’s Office of Instructional Technology sent a number of Instructional Technology Coaches to the VSTE conference in Roanoke.  I’d never been to a VSTE conference but had always heard good things from colleagues who had.  So, before I knew it I was VSTE-bound, ready to be indoctrinated into a world of demo slams, karaoke, and candied bacon.

VSTE 2017 was a great conference and an even better experience with great sessions, vendors, and like-minded people.  Of all the learning and networking that happened, one session really stuck – “Developing Podcasts for Professional Development”.  A colleague and friend, Elizabeth (Biz) Engelbret, and I attended the session and we were both struck by how “doable” it all seemed.  The Fairfax group presenting did a great job of explaining in detail what worked for them, and the two of us were immediately hatching plans for our own version.

We wanted to put together a new form of professional development in Prince William County that could offer flexibility and choice.  There are so many of us out there doing great things and coming up with better solutions to common hurdles, but how to share it with the masses?  Professional Developments are great to hear some of this knowledge first hand, but busy schedules and life tend to make a mockery of our best intentions.  If only there was a way to continue the conversation about improving educational practices and make it an on-demand experience (with a technology-in-the-classroom twist).  And so, the “PWCS EdTech Podcast” was born.

The first order of business was to get the right equipment.  The VSTE podcasting session explained what we’d probably want, but they didn’t offer to pay for it (the scoundrels…).  We decided to try the next best thing and wrote a grant.  Podcasting itself can be done on the cheap - grab a computer and a mic and you’re ready to go – but this wasn’t going to be a personal podcast recorded in an office.  To make our idea work we were going to need to be mobile and have multiple mics available.  Lucky for us, Prince William has a wonderful resource in the form of an educational foundation called SPARK.  We wrote our SPARK grant proposal focusing on the idea of a new form of professional development and won the money to cover both the hardware and software to start our program.  With the grant we bought a Zoom H6 multi-port recorder, four AudioTechnica XLR mics, headphones, stands, spider-mounts, a portable speaker, and a year’s subscription to Adobe Audition.  With a little practice (and learning about something called ‘Phantom Power’) we felt confident enough to use it.  Now, what do we say?

We always knew the focus of the podcast was going to be technology in the classroom, but that’s a fairly broad topic.  Before we got ourselves too wrapped up in over thinking it, we decided to talk about what was happening at our schools.  It just so happened that it was close enough to Digital Learning Day that we used that as an angle and stumbled through our first episode.  Some things we learned from that first episode:

  1. Have water nearby.
  2. Find a comfy distance from the mic, adjust your gain and stay there (don’t keep moving back and forth).
  3. Just record.  There’s nothing worse than trying to recreate a spontaneous gem of a moment.
  4. A digital editor (Adobe Audition, Audacity, or others) can help clean up all sorts of mistakes, both in terms of quality of sound and sequencing.

I’m writing this after we just finished recording what will be our 17th episode with Alanna Dushok and Tim Signorelli at Bryant High School in Fairfax, VA.  Alanna and Tim are an amazing tag-team of an Instructional Coach and a School Based Technology Specialist who focus on building the capacity of the teachers they work with.  It’s these episodes, where Biz and I bring others into the conversation, that I enjoy the most.  Give someone a mic and a bit of time and you’ll start to find out what really makes them tick.  In the past we’ve had conversations with PWCS’s Supervisor of Instructional Technology, Diane Harazin (episode 3), PWCS’s newest high school’s Instructional Technology Coach, Billy Watts (episode 6), and the “not a debate” between G Suite and Office365 with Cheryl Hinzman and Katie Fielding (episode 10).  Each of these are examples of bringing in smart, capable people and delving into their passions.

I’ve really enjoyed the podcasting experience.  These conversations give me the perfect opportunity to reflect, and possibly grow, at least twice a month.  I hope that our listeners feel its time well spent.

The PWCS EdTech podcast releases new episodes on the 1st and 15th, during the school year, and can found on Podbean or wherever you enjoy podcasts.


Written by Brian Simpson, an Instructional Technology Coach at Beville Middle School in Prince William Public Schools. He is co-host, with Elizabeth Engelbret, of the PWCS EdTech podcast, a bi-monthly program available in Apple Podcasts and other podcast aggregators.

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Filed Under: Blog, Front Page Middle, VSTE Voices Tagged With: audio, podcast, prince william

Tuning In To Podcasts

March 18, 2019 by timstahmer

“I’d like to do that, if I just had the time,” is one of the most commonly heard phrases in the hallways of any school. If you’ve ever said that yourself, one solution might be podcasts. I dragged my feet for a long time, getting into podcasts, but once I did, I found that it gave me the time to learn so much more. And getting started with podcasts is incredibly simple—just find an app, find a show, and find some time.

Finding an app is the simplest step. You probably already have an app on your phone that will let you download content—look for an app called Podcasts or Google Play Music. If you prefer an app that’s more robust, there are dozens of options out there. Some of my favorites are Castbox, Podcast Addict, or Stitcher. Spotify is also getting into the podcast game which would be a good starting place if that’s an app you already use.Elizabeth and Brian with their recording setup

The next part is the fun part—find a show! Start by searching for content that interests you. Apple podcasts has over half a million in podcasts in over a hundred languages, so you’re certain to find one that appeals to you.

My favorite EdTech podcast is definitely The EdTech Takeout, a twice-monthly, conversational-style show in which the hosts discuss the latest updates in educational technology while keeping their focus on student learning. If you prefer a podcast with a single host, I strongly recommend The Cult of Pedagogy. Jennifer Gonzalez shares her thoughts on teaching strategies, education reform, and more. She never fails to teach me something new in her podcasts. If you want a slightly wider menu, there’s a curated list available on the Education Podcast Network where I always find something new to try.

If you’re planning to podcast with your students, it’s also great to listen to some podcasts that are for and by young people. NPR publishes WOW in the World to explore science and technology, and I am always delighted by the interview-style Show about Science, hosted by a second grader but well-produced by his dad. For a more authentic feel of what students are capable of, check out The Fifth Grade Futurists, which is highly entertaining, but also attainable for real classes with limited equipment. Narrative podcasts are also great for a younger audience. I like The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel which is narrated by middle school students. If you want something subject- and grade-specific, Listenwise is a freemium service, but their curation tool is free and robust.

The last step is just to find some time to listen. I fell in love with podcasts while training for a marathon. They filled the time up so much better than music. I also listen on my morning commute and when I’m doing chores around the house. I try to save my favorite narrative podcast to listen to while I’m ironing—it helps pass the time with a chore I particularly detest.

For the busy teacher, it’s the lowest-investment, highest-return way I can think of to sneak some professional learning time or just make your commute a more enjoyable experience.


Written by Elizabeth Engelbret, Instructional Technology Coach at Fred Lynn Middle School in Prince William County. She is co-host, with Brian Simpson, of the PWCS EdTech podcast, a bi-monthly program available in Apple Podcasts and other podcast aggregators.

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Filed Under: Blog, Front Page Middle, VSTE News, VSTE Voices Tagged With: audio, podcast, prince william

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